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Lawmakers Debate Libya Attack; Pussy Riot Member Freed; Drilling For Oil In The Arctic; Letters From John Lennon; Observing "Day of the Girl"; Supreme Court Weighs Affirmative Action

Aired October 10, 2012 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Here's what's going on right now.

It starts right now on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are demanding answers about that attack at the U.S. consulate in Libya that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead. And one thing is certain, the attack did not happen the way the Obama administration initially said it may have. This violence did not start with a spontaneous protest over a now notorious anti-Islam film. Let's get straight to some of the details now. Jill Dougherty joining us now from the U.S. State Department.

So, Jill, State Department officials will be testifying today about the attack. What are they expected to try to set straight?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you know, very interesting reading, some of these documents. There is statements that are coming out by the key people who will be testifying today. And they -- and I've been reading through them and I think there are a couple of very important moments, specifically on what you are saying about the initial explanation of what happened. That came essentially from the U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice. And in the testimony by Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, which we expect to hear, he says that any official who was in -- was testifying at that particular time that she did, which was on the 16th, five days later, the 16th of September, five days after the attack, would have said the very same thing because it was based on the information that was known at that particular moment.

So, you're already setting up, you know, some would say that the administration lied. In fact, Chairman Issa said that the administration misled people. Now, Patrick Kennedy, from the State Department, he is the under secretary for management, and he is saying, no, that is what we knew at that particular point.

And there are some other interesting moments, Fred, as we go through this. We can discuss it if you want, but I think that's one of the key things.

WHITFIELD: It is, indeed. And so we also just learned information that the White House has sent John Brennan to Libya. He has been meeting with senior Libyan officials there as well. Brennan, the assistant to President Obama for homeland security and counterterrorism. What is expected to be the mission or what is the hope that would be accomplished?

DOUGHERTY: Well, he is discussing, obviously, the investigation. And actually there are three investigations, as we know. This congressional investigation, the FBI, and also the State Department itself has its own investigation, which it's required to do by law. So he's been discussing that and also additional steps that Libya could take to help to bring whoever carried out this attack to justice. So it's an important visit and it comes at a very important time.

WHITFIELD: And what more is believed to be learned about all those parties involved in the attack, whether they would all conceivably be arrested?

DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, I think the main thing now will be that essential question still -- how organized and in advance was this plan? I really don't think that that has been completely explained by anyone. Was it planned months ago, let's say, or was it something that there were people who had a plan already, let's say, on the shelf that could be carried out and this escalated?

We do know, and this is coming from State Department officials and also one of the regional security officer on the ground before this happened, both agreeing that this was an unprecedented attack. That both the ferocity of it, as one official said, and the size of it, the numbers of people, were really completely out of the ordinary of anything that had happened before.

So that's something that I think will be key to watch during this testimony today.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jill Dougherty, thanks so much. Keep us posted. From the State Department.

All right, after spending most of this year behind bars, one member of the female Russian punk band Pussy Riot is now a free woman. She and two others were jailed after the band performed a song critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin inside Moscow's main cathedral back in February.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two members fled Russia to avoid arrest, but the other three were found guilty of hooliganism and given two-year prison terms. Well, today, a Moscow court decided to let one of them go because she wasn't at that controversial performance. Joining us now from Moscow, CNN's Phil Black.

So, Phil, you know, the band member who was ordered released today never made it into the church that day, apparently. She was kept out by guards. So why then was she convicted in the first place, along with the other two?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, these same facts, which ultimately set her free today, the fact she didn't make it into the performance, was mentioned during the original trial. But during that trial, the judge decided to focus more on her intention to be there and the planning that she'd put towards joining the girls in that performance. Also, the three women had teamed up in their strategy, in their defense during that trial, to really focus on the fact that they believe that this was political, it wasn't motivated by religious hatred, as the charges stated, and that it was a legal, political protest in that sense. So it's really only now in the appeal that that point has been hammered home in her defense, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And there seems to be, you know, some real similarities between what President Vladimir Putin says about this case and the subsequent court rulings. A lawyer for one of the women pointing out in "The Guardian" newspaper that the women were given a lighter sentence after President Putin said they shouldn't be judged too harshly. And then just a few days ago, Mr. Putin said the band got what they asked for. And then today the court refused to let two of them go. Is this a coincidence or is there a real correlation here?

BLACK: Hmm, coincidence. These are the events that took place. Certainly the Russian judicial system isn't known for being the most transparent, the most independent in the world, and there are people in this country that go much further than that. They say that it is heavily corrupt. Quite often very politicized.

In this case, the women's own defense team had said that it was political all along. That it was being driven from the very top of the Russian political system. And they did not expect, as a result, that any of their members would be freed. So today's result, under those circumstances, has certainly come as a surprise.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so what's the real feeling about the suppression of free speech here as it relates to this case?

BLACK: Well, in this case, what unites most Russian people, I think, is that the women shouldn't have done this in the place that they did it. The real debate in this country has been, what sort of punishment would be appropriate, not whether or not they should be punished. Even those who support the message of the song have felt -- many of them have felt very uncomfortable with the fact that the women went into this cathedral and behaved in this way. And that has very much been the talking point here in Russia over the last six months or so. But there have be many religious people as well, people who closely identify with the Russian Orthodox church, who thought that two years was far too severe.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Black in Moscow, thanks so much.

John Lennon not only wrote songs, he wrote letters. A lot of them. And now they're collected in one book.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Every day the Prime Minister stands in this parliament to defend this Speaker will be another day of shame for this parliament. JULIA GILLARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: In so doing, I say to the leader of the opposition, I will not be lectured about sexism and misogamy by this man. I will not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And a tirade in Australia's parliament going viral. We'll explain why tempers flared.

And America needs oil, but drilling for it in the Arctic involves environmental risks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Europe, policymakers say drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean is OK with them. The European Parliament's industry committee has voted to reject a moratorium on Arctic drilling. And here in the U.S., preparations are already underway to look for oil deep beneath the world's smallest ocean off Alaska. Environmentalists are not happy. Our Miguel Marquez reports from a Shell oil company rig in the Arctic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the spot where America's oil needs meets environmental frustration and concern.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The Noble Discoverer, one of two rigs Shell is operating in the Arctic. The rigs aren't drilling for oil, only putting in 1,500 foot preparatory wells that they'll revisit and complete next year when the real work begins.

PETE SLAIBY, VICE PRESIDENT, SHELL ALASKA: 2012 has been a good year for us because we drilled. 2013 will be a chance to improve upon our success this year.

MARQUEZ: Success here doesn't come easy. In a setback, Shell scaled back its drilling plans this summer after a major piece of clean-up gear and oil containment dome was damaged during testing. To win drilling rights, Shell has paid for and equipped its own armada of clean-up vessels. Environmentalists and some Alaska natives say the failure is proof the Arctic isn't ready for oil exploration.

MARQUEZ (on camera): You can't have success in a controlled environment. How can you be confident you can control it in a place like the Arctic?

SLAIBY: Well, first of all, we were working on this. This is why we were testing the containment dome to begin with. We were looking at it really as a -- it is a serial number one piece of equipment. So the work we're doing is really working to work all the bugs out of the problems before we bring it up to the Arctic.

MARQUEZ: But oil from the Arctic won't come cheap and it won't come easily. Shell has already spent $5 billion just to get to this point. And they're not entirely sure what they'll find down there. They believe that as much as 20 percent of America's future oil needs could be below the sea floor where I'm standing.

SLAIBY: We've got 275 leases in the Chukchi, which is huge. It's about equal to our position in the Gulf of Mexico. So we are optimistic, but everything before a drill bit is really just optimism. We have to drill this.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Next summer, Shell says, it's all systems go. All its clean-up vessels, ready for Arctic deployment. Today, an expensive dress rehearsal for what Shell insists is a major production ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Miguel Marquez joining us now.

So, Miguel, you know, Shell seems to be forging straight ahead. Is there any pushback from environmentalists or even Alaska residents?

MARQUEZ: Well, huge pushback from environmentalists, certainly. They fear that the Arctic is so fragile that if there is a Deepwater Horizon-like disaster in that area, it will just set -- it will destroy the entire ecosystem there. Natives are concerned for two reasons. One, certainly an environmental problem, but also because they fear if more companies, more countries come into the Arctic, it will change their way of life. Both sides very concerned about this. But, you know, Shell is forging ahead, and next year they will ramp up their exploration and in 10, 15 years they expect to be pumping billions of barrels of oil out of here.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Let's talk a little bit more about the environmental impact of the drilling for oil in the Arctic. Chad Myers with us now. So, to what extent are we talking about the risks would be?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, they have taken a significant more precautions in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico where we get hurricanes, right? That can knock things off. That can -- we can lose oil. They can get hurricanes up there, not per say, but they have hurricanes with icebergs.

Think about a 40-mile-per-hour iceberg hitting a rig. Something like that. Knocking -- they have a completely different threshold of pain up there. The pumps have to be underground down below. They've actually called these things basements. They'll shut off -- remember the thing that broke, that didn't really work. That --

WHITFIELD: I was just thinking. I mean, say something goes wrong, how are you going to get to it to fix it?

MYERS: Well, and all of a sudden if you have --

WHITFIELD: Plug it. MYERS: If you have a full sheet of ice or a field of ice, how do you clean that up if there's something under the ice? You can't get ships in there. You can't get people in there because it literally is --

WHITFIELD: Frozen.

MYERS: It's frozen. You can't get there until maybe spring. And by that time there's so much else to go on.

I'm telling you, I have looked a lot at this project. This project is impressive. The $5 billion. There's the Chukchi Sea up toward the north and to the west. You know, well north of Fairbanks. It's a small area. They have a very large lease, though. They have many, many areas that they can lease and re-drill. Right now they're putting a pilot hole down to see whether there's anything that they need to worry about. They're not drilling for oil yet this year. They're going to get there, but so far no.

WHITFIELD: Would they consider whether there is a more optimal window of opportunity in the calendar year in which to do that where the risk is lower? Or it's just always tough?

MYERS: They would never drill in the winter because of those icebergs coming, right? You know, knocking things down, but it's that shut-off well that's down below that could get knocked over from an ice floe. You know, you see an ice floe, but only 10 percent of the ice is above the surface. Ninety percent of that ice cube is down below the surface and that's so much force, so much energy, it's a completely new way to do things. The threshold of stability and to make sure that this works, they don't want to mess up the first one because they'd never get to come back, right?

WHITFIELD: Right. And so much could damaged along the way, potentially. All right, Chad Myers, appreciate that. Thanks so much.

All right. a 14-year-old in Pakistan is in critical condition after being shot by the Taliban. Now, CNN has a never before seen interview with Malala talking about why she risked her life to raise her voice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I want to take you straight to Capitol Hill. Live pictures right now of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Right now, Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings talking right now.

All are searching for answer on what the U.S. knew leading up to and following the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which led to the deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador there.

Let's listen in to Representative Cummings.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) MARYLAND: ... are just as concerned as the members on the other side of the aisle. We each represent about 700,000 each people, too. We want to make sure that all the questions are answered. In contrast, on the Senate side, every member on the Foreign Relations Committee, Democrats and Republicans alike, joined in a bipartisan letter to the State Department requesting information on the attack.

So, what do we do today? What do we do today? My goal is to try in some way to put this toxic partisanship behind us and focus on the security of our personnel.

Every two years, we put our hands up as member of this Congress and we swear to protect the people of the United States of America. All of us do that. Not just Republicans. Not just Democrats. All of us. And those people that we've promise to protect are not limited to just the folks that are within our shores and our boundaries of this nation, but those people who go out and put their lives on the line every day for us in foreign lands.

WHITFIELD: All right, you're listening to Representative Cummings there at that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, essentially setting the stage there.

A number of people are scheduled to testify, including at least two members of the U.S. State Department, Mr. Eric Nordstrom, who you saw his picture, regional security officer, and Ambassador Patrick Kennedy.

We'll continue to monitor the developments and all that is said during that hearing throughout the afternoon.

In the meantime, we have a follow-up on a story we brought you yesterday about a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban. They were trying to silence the teenager because she has been speaking out in favor of educating girls. Her name is Malala and, today, doctors removed a bullet from her shoulder. They say she is in stable condition.

CNN's Reza Sayah got an exclusive interview with the teen activist a year ago. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So why do you risk your life to raise your voice?

MALALA YOUSUFZA, EDUCATION ACTIVIST: Because I thought that my people need me and I shall raise my voice because, if I didn't raise my voice now, so when will I raise my voice?

SAYAH: Some people might say you're 14. You don't have any rights. You just have to listen to mom and dad.

YOUSUFZA: No, I have rights. I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up.

SAYAH: What if you give that advice to a girl who may not be as courageous as you and she says, Malala, I'm afraid, I just want to stay in my room?

YOUSUFZA: So, I'll tell her don't stay in your room because God will ask you on the day of judgment where were you when your people were asking you, when your school fellows were asking you, and when your school was asking you that I am being blown up?

When your people need you, you should come up. You should come and stand up for their rights.

SAYAH: If you were the president of this country, how would you handle the Taliban?

YOUSUFZA: First of all, I would like to build so many schools in this country because education is the must thing. If you don't have educated people, so the Taliban will come to your area, but if you have educated people, they will not come.

SAYAH: Well, educated or not, the Taliban come with bombs and guns. How do you handle that? Do you still talk to them, or do you call in the army? What do you do?

YOUSUFZA: First of all, I would like to talk to them.

SAYAH: What would you say?

YOUSUFZA: I would say that what are your demands, what do you want?

SAYAH: We want you to shut down the schools is what they'd say.

YOUSUFZA: So, I'll tell them that don't shut our schools because school -- I will -- I will ...

SAYAH: You're 14. You have no idea what you're talking about. We're going to shut down your school.

YOUSUFZA: So, give me a second. So, first of all, I will -- I will show them Koran, what Koran says. Koran didn't say that girls are not allowed to go to school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What a remarkable young lady. Reza Sayah, joining us now on the phone from Islamabad.

She is -- she just defies any 14-year-old and she is firm in her stance. Give us an idea what her status is right now after that shooting.

SAYAH (via telephone): Well, her status is improving considerably. Earlier today we spoke to a neurosurgeon and he told us that after a three hour operation they did manage to get the bullet out that was lodged in the shoulder, the neck area.

And according to this doctor, she has a 90 percent chance of surviving and it's great news. She's got a lot of admirers throughout the day. There's a large group of women in the southern port city of Karachi holding a candlelight vigil for her, praying for her.

So, a lot of people optimistic tonight, hopeful that she's going to recover.

WHITFIELD: Some reports indicate that doctors have indicated it may be difficult for her to speak even after she heals. Is that something that you're learning?

SAYAH: It's not clear right now. What the doctors and here family members have told us is that she's unconscious right now. She's on sedatives. It's going to take a couple of days to see how she recovers, but they say that the surgery was successful. They're optimistic. But to make an assessment like that, they need more time to see how she recovers from the surgery.

WHITFIELD: How about arrests? Have there been any?

SAYAH: According to the interior minister today, they have identified two of the gunmen who shot her and they insist that they're going to be arrested soon. It's not clear who these men are. It's not clear how Pakistani authorities found them in such a short amount of time.

We should point out that in the past Pakistan authorities have made lofty claims like this that haven't materialized, so we'll see what happens with this claim. We'll see if they, indeed, found the culprit.

WHITFIELD: And, Reza, apparently the Taliban has warned that, quote, "if she survives this time, she won't next time," so what kind of protections, what kind of security is being extended to her?

SAYAH: Well, I think there's a good chance that the government will offer her security. The Interior Minister today said that they've offered her security earlier and her family had refused, but I think in light of what has happened, I think they're going to push some security on her. But right now, the priority is her health, her condition and her recovery, obviously.

WHITFIELD: Yes, what a remarkable young lady. All right, thanks so much. Reza Sayah, appreciate that.

All right, it is filled with almost 300 letters and documents dating from his childhood to the days of his death, the new book providing fantastic insight into the mind of John Lennon. We'll talk to the author who compiled this massive collection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, his message was simple. "All you need is love." John Lennon would have turned 72-years old this week and, for his birthday this year, the gift goes to his fans in the form of a massive new book. That one right there, "The John Lennon Letters." It's filled with almost 300 notes and documents, dating from the artist's childhood to the day of his death, including what was possibly the last autograph he ever signed. Hunter Davies is responsible for putting together this amazing collection and he's joining me right now from London. So, these letters give us -- hopefully, you can hear me, Mr. Davies -- these letters give us a look inside one of pop music's most important artists. This is far from your first book about The Beatles, but how did you get this?

HUNTER DAVIES, AUTHOR, "THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS": I had to track them all down. They didn't exist. It's not like somebody who had died 100 years ago and the letters in universities, all, and museums. I had to find the 300 people who owned these letters and Yoko gave me the copyright permission, which she didn't give me any letters because she hasn't got any, so it was a piece of detective work, finding all the letters.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So, somehow you had some clues as to how to find these people who had the letters. Was there almost like a roster or some sort of file where you -- how you knew how to look or where to look?

DAVIES: No, there's no file. I did the obvious things. I wrote to all the people that are his relations, his aunts and his uncles and his cousins. And I wrote that people that worked with him. I spoke to collectors.

I've got three letters from John and the things about the letters, the copyright rule is you can't -- I can burn these letters. I can let you read them. I can sell them at Sotheby's. What I can't do is publish them, so these letters have never been seen before.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

DAVIES: The thing about them is it shows different aspects of John's character. We know he could be funny. We know he could be caustic. We know he could be vulgar. We know he could be obscene. But we also see in these letters him being depressed when he's a young man in Hamburg and then, later in his life, we see him being sentimental and nostalgic and the other thing that struck me about the letters was that he wrote to obvious people like he wrote to me, he wrote to Paul, he wrote to George Martin.

But he wrote funny letters to totally unknown people, just to amuse himself. There's a very funny letter. At least, I think it's funny. When he's in New York, he wrote to the laundry, complaining about this New York laundry who nicked up his clothes.

I've got a copy of it here. Can I read it quickly?

WHITFIELD: Yes, please.

DAVIES: "Dear laundry -- dear laundry, Mrs. Yoko Ono Lennon does not, will not" -- this is all capitals -- "has not died her hair. She does not sweat" -- brackets -- "most Orientals do not sweat like us. What is your excuse for turning my brand-new white shirt yellow?"

WHITFIELD: Oh, my. DAVIES: "John Lennon."

Now, this is not on heavy notepaper. This is him being angry and upset, but at the same time, he's being witty and funny. Now, I'm amazed anybody would recognize his signature, but somebody in that New York laundry must have bagged the letter.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my ...

DAVIES: Bagged, that's a joke. And, obviously, it came on the market. It's now in Washington in a private hotel.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. That's incredible. So, you know, besides the words, you mentioned that sometimes you could tell from his letters that he was very depressed and he was going through various mood swings.

Besides the word choice, I noticed that in a lot of these letters sometimes he would be very artistic, similar to some of the water colors that he would eventually or he and Yoko Ono would eventually release in art form. So, he would doodle a lot or kind of draw a lot of pictures of his family, almost kind of like self-impressionistic work, as well. What did that say about him?

DAVIES: That's one of the joys of the letters. They're not just little literary works of art. They're also visual because he was an artist and went to art college and he's amusing himself and he's tailoring each letter and postcard to the recipient. And almost every one of the 300 that I've found and there must be many I haven't found, he drew things. He drew little doodles of him and Yoko, with his little eyes, and he did funny drawings.

There's one drawing -- there's one letter to a cousin of his called Leila, who became a doctor, and, if you look at this letter carefully, up at the top of the page you can see some palm trees and, if you look at one of the palm trees, you can see his little face with his specs peeking out. Then in the corner, there's a pyramid. It took me a long time to work out that and it's because his cousin was born in Egypt where the pyramids are, so he had these visual jokes.

So, the Beatles fan who's reading this book can work out the words and they'll probably explain things I've missed and they can also look at all the drawings and doodles because almost every letter is decorated. When he went to an airplane such as American Airways and he was working on headed notepaper, he would change all the words and, if it says "altitude," he would change it to attitude. Free and easy, whatever, and he would change -- anyway, he would muck around with all the -- to amuse himself.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. We also know -- you know, everyone kind of has common knowledge that, you know, The Beatles were often at war with themselves toward the end of their time together. Any insight into those kind of last days based on his writings or his messages to people? Anything?

DAVIES: Well, we know that The Beatles fell out. We know they split up and were all suing each other, 1960 to 1970, and we know that he and Paul fell out, but it was through Apple and Allen Klein and they're all ending up suing each other, and that was very sad, so there are two or three letters in the book. I don't think John actually sent them. They're scribble letters in which he is absolutely furious with Paul, so he's screaming at him and saying awful things. At the back of it was the fact that he thought everybody hated Yoko, so he's being defensive and paranoid.

One story that Paul told me when I was doing the official biography many, many years ago, he and John were having a screaming match and they're shouting at each other, then they go to the lavatory and they're standing, having a wee, and John looks across to Paul, takes his specs off and says to Paul, "It's only me, Paul," and they go back in the room and carry on (INAUDIBLE) and screaming at each other. So it was this love-hate relationship.

WHITFIELD: Incredible book, incredible collection and insight. Hunter Davies, thanks so much. The book is "The John Lennon Letters." Thanks for sharing with us from London.

DAVIES: A pleasure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Sparks were flying today on the floor of Australia's parliament in Sydney. Prime Minister Julia Gillard accused opposition coalition leader Tony Abbott of hypocrisy after he called the Speaker of the House a sexist. Abbott was referring to crude sexual text messages the Speaker allegedly sent to a former female staffer.

Well, that was too much for Gillard, who took to the podium to point out sexist statements made by Abbott, including his questioning of a woman's ability to hold powerful positions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILLARD: I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not. And the government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, not now, not ever.

The leader of the opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well, I hope of the leader for the opposition has got a piece much paper and he's writing out his resignation. If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives. He needs a mirror. That's what he needs.

ABBOTT: Every day, the Prime Minister stands in this parliament to defend this Speaker will be another day of shame for this parliament, another day of shame for a government which should have already died of shame.

GILLARD: Well, can I indicate to the leader of the opposition that government is not dying of shame. My father did not die of shame. What the leader of the opposition should be ashamed of is his performance in this parliament and the sexism he brings with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Abbott was trying to get the House Speaker fired for those sexual text he sent to a former staffer. Hours later, the Speaker resigned.

All right. It is a frightening statistic. Seventy-five million girls are not in school because of poverty. We'll look at how the U.N. is trying to change that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's hard to believe. Right now, 75 million girls are absent from classrooms around the world. Poverty, forced marriage and discrimination are some of the reasons behind it and the United Nations is trying to bring about a change. It has declared tomorrow International Day of the Girl Child.

Joining us from New York to talk about the Day of the Girl is Mariane Pearl, widow of "Wall Street Journal" reporter, Daniel Pearl. Mariane, good to see you.

MARIANE PEARL, "BECAUSE I AM A GIRL" CAMPAIGN: Good to see you, too, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, a third of girls are not in school. Is this Day of the Girl a first step toward changing that?

PEARL: Well, there's a lot of people working towards that goal now of bringing kids to school, you know, girls to school. It's an important recognition, a global recognition. I think that matters a lot, but there's still a lot of work to do, but it's being done.

WHITFIELD: And, so, how will this day resonate? Because, clearly, in countries that are not recognizing the potential of a young girl, they wouldn't acknowledge this kind of movement, this kind of marker for a day.

PEARL: I think what's important now in what's going on is that the changes -- thanks to an organization that work in the field, the changes is now coming from the inside, so young girls are not being forced into marriage.

Parents are understanding the importance of educating girls and they are able to transform the communities because of their knowledge now of the cultural circumstances, the context and how to speak to the elders and that kind of thing ...

So I think that, you know, what's new and what's very, you know, gives a lot of hope is that the fact that the change is now coming from the inside.

WHITFIELD: And you know most recently this 14-year-old powerhouse of a little girl in Pakistan, Malala, known as Malala, she has been very outspoken against the Taliban and very outspoken about the need to be -- for young girls to be able to get an education. She takes great risk to get her education on a daily basis and then she's shot two times and is fighting for her life.

While the prognosis may look good about her healing, you know, a real giant message is being sent by her being a target, whether it be in Pakistan or in other countries. Do you worry, you know, that that may happen to other little girls, that may discourage other little girls who are for a moment feeling encouraged that they too might be able to get an education?

PEARL: Well, you know, I'm -- first of all I'm heartbroken, you know, and I just found out about this young girl. And so I'm really sad. You know, the thing is, this is a very important movement, and like every important movement, there will be major obstacles. And this is one. The violence is, you know, I think the weapon of the week, in this instance. And, but, you know, I don't think anyone will stop such an important movement. I think that we have to compose with reality and what these girls are facing. I think it also brings us reality and tells us this is what they're really doing when they're speaking for their education, you know, that's what's going on.

WHITFIELD: Mariane Pearl, thank you so much for joining us.

PEARL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And all the best in what tomorrow will be, the Day of the Girl.

PEAR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: An International Day of the Girl. Thanks so much.

We want to take you to Capitol Hill now where those hearings are ongoing, the hearings to try to get a little bit more information about what the U.S. knew leading up to and immediately following the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. You're looking right now at testimony involving Eric Nordstrom, the regional security officer at the U.S. State Department.

Our Jill Dougherty is at the State Department. She, too, is also monitoring this hearing, this hearing trying to get to the bottom of the facts as to what led to the attack on this U.S. consulate, which led to the deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.

Jill, how much is likely to be revealed here that hasn't already been revealed?

DOUGHERTY: Probably not a whole lot. I think it's more the interpretation. Now, there is, of course, intelligence information that has been shared behind the scenes, but that is not being publicized, obviously. But right now, I'd have to say the hearing, since it started roughly at noon, has been pretty much sparring between Democrats and Republicans about whether or not this is a non- political investigation and hearing. So there hasn't been a lot of progress on that front. But now we're actually hearing from the witnesses. Mr. Nordstrom. He is the regional -- was the regional security officer in Libya before this happened. And we are expecting, at least from the statements that we did see, his comments from before, released before he spoke, saying that it appeared that some of the hardware, the physical structure and support from the State Department was pretty much what they had asked for. Security wires, walls, et cetera.

But before him, we heard from Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Wood from the Utah National Guard. He was on his security team that was working with the State Department. And he is saying that the personnel were not sufficient.

So we're going to go on. Obviously, we'll hear more and more. But I think it's quite obvious that the State Department is going to say that we gave as much as we could and what was warranted, and Chairman Issa is arguing that it wasn't enough and that this attack should have been the scene in advance and protection and measures taken.

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REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R-CA) HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVT. REFORM CHMN.: The overall level of security at the compound did not meet the threat existent or standards under Inman or any other reasonable assessment for a facility of this sort. Today's hearing is the result of concerned citizens with direct knowledge of the events in Libya, ultimately reaching this committee. As we look back on what occurred, our challenge is to identify things that clearly went wrong and what the benefit of hindsight will be for the men and women serving at dangerous locations around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: And, Fred, you know, as we're -- as I'm reading through some of these comments in advance again -- the text in advance from Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, who is the undersecretary for management, he is admitting, saying that right now we don't know everything. So even what we're going to hear at this committee may be incomplete because the entire picture is not known. But they are, as we know, there are three investigations taking place -- FBI, Capitol Hill and then also the State Department's own investigation is taking place.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then you mentioned Patrick Kennedy, an ambassador, will be testifying, or at least he's called to testify. Do we know whether or not the request was ever made for the U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, to testify, or even the ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice? Did they request their --

DOUGHERTY: No, neither of them was requested by the committee.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jill Dougherty, thanks so much, from the State Department. Appreciate that.

We'll have much more from the NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A huge affirmative action case is before the U.S. Supreme Court today. It involves a white student who claims she was denied admission to the University of Texas because she is not a minority. That student, Abigail Noel Fisher, just made a statement about the case right there in Washington on the steps of the Supreme Court. Let's bring in Joe Johns, who is there.

So, Joe, give us an idea, what did she have to say?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, she didn't say much, quite frankly, Fredricka. She essentially thanked her lawyers and said that she hopes her case does well here before the Supreme Court. Fascinating arguments inside pretty much along predictable lines I think I would say.

The justices on the right, very aggressive of the attacks on the previous case that they heard here some nine years ago. That would be Grutter vs. Bollinger, a case relating to the University of Michigan's law school, and questioning whether preferences for individuals along racial lines can sort of adequately be policed and put through the traps, if you will, on university campuses.

So intense questioning here. It actually went over the appointed amount of time the justices typically use to hear these cases. And it could be months, of course, before we get some decision.

One of the things I think is most interesting -- I'm sorry, there's a lot of noise and distraction out here. One of the things I think most interesting was a question that came from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who essentially asked whether it would be appropriate to keep one part of the program at the University of Texas in place. That's the part that allows just 10 percent of high school classes, the top 10 percent, to go to the University of Texas. And the other part of their program there also allows for race to be used as one of many factors in determining who gets in.

The question I think for many of these justices was whether to throw out that part that involves race and just keep the 10 percent. Very complicated and difficult answers, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right, Joe Johns, thank you so much. The steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Thank you so much for that.

And we'll have much more of the NEWSROOM after this.

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